


You’ll stay in this cage until this is done

by Yorokobi_669



Series: dream smp fanfictions go brrrrr [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Dream Smp, Everyone : concerned, Everyone is OOC but it’s fine, Multiple pronouns for Eret, Post-Election Arc, Schlatt is bad, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit Friendship, Wilbur : tnt go brrrrr, Wilbur Soot Needs a Hug, but he isn’t the worse, even schlatt gets some redemption for some spice, mmm decided to give everyone a redemption arc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:21:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26945119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yorokobi_669/pseuds/Yorokobi_669
Summary: Wilbur couldn’t have Tommy interfering with his plans, and while he didn’t want to hurt his right hand, he did have to find a way to keep him away from his master plan. He just didn’t plan for the chance that he wouldn’t be able to release Tommy right afterwards.[Discontinued]
Relationships: Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit, Eret & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Eret & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: dream smp fanfictions go brrrrr [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1981897
Comments: 113
Kudos: 1500
Collections: Found family to make me feel something





	1. Caged

Tommy tried to stop Wilbur, he really did. He followed the man as he paced back and forth in Pogtopia, chattering on and on and trying to convince him to stop. He barely had any of his gear or supplies on him, as he’d just woken up the morning of the festival.

Then Wilbur grappled a pickaxe, broke a hole in the wall, and revealed a secluded room. He grabbed Tommy by the arm and dragged him in, revealing a prison cell of sorts and dragged Tommy in it to lock him inside.

“Wilbur- Wil!”Tommy shouted, running forward at the iron bars in shock, “What- what’re you doing? Let me out right now!”

“I can’t have you interfering with this, Tommy.”Wilbur stated coldly, “You’ll stay in this cage until this is done.”

“Wil!”Tommy screamed as he blocked off the wall again, banging his hands against the walls, “Wilbur, please, don’t do this! It isn’t worth it!”

He received no response.

A single torch in the corner of the room proved light for him, but it brought no comfort in his 4x4 cell. He wondered if Techno would leave the festival out of boredom and find him, find him in time for him to spill Wilbur’s entire plan and try to convince him to help

Hours passed.

Then it came to the point where he couldn’t tell how long it had been.

Then it came to the point where Tommy knew that Wilbur should have returned by now. He didn’t.

He screamed until his throat went raw and his voice went hoarse, and then he beat the iron bars and the door until his knuckles bleed and split open.

He couldn’t tell how long he’d been stuck in that tiny cell.

Then, after spending what felt like an eternity of wakefulness, he fell asleep on the small cot in the corner and clutched at the pillow, not caring at the blood that rubbed off onto it.

He missed Wilbur, and he missed Tubbo most of all.

Then, after waking up after who knows how long (he most certainly didn’t know), he heard voices.

“This place looks deserted.”Fundy said, his voice muffled and distant, but it was there. Someone was there.

“Yeah, well, even if it is we could get a clue as to where the hell Tommy’s been. No ones seen him since before the festival.”Schlatt said back. Even if Tommy nearly hated the man, he felt relieved.

“And Wilbur hasn’t woken up yet, right?”Karl, surprisingly, said. Why was Karl there with those two, Tommy wondered.

Tommy then snapped himself out of it and came to the realization that people were there and they could let him out, even if they were his enemies he’d rather risk it with them than stay in his cage any longer. He dragged himself out of the bed and began to bang on the iron bars with his fists, past the point of caring for his health, “I’M IN HERE! PLEASE, I’M IN HERE!”

His voice sounded like shit, but at least he was still able to be loud even if it hurt.

Someone broke the wall in and Tommy almost cried as the light from Pogtopia seeped in, he let out a weak laugh as he collapsed onto the floor, woozy and dizzy from standing beforehand, “Haha, fuck.”

“Tommy!?”He heard Eret now, and then more of the wall broke open until there was enough room for the four men to pile into the room and see Tommy’s sorry state, “Oh, god...”

“Let me out.”Tommy demanded weakly, hit his fists once more, “Out, out, now!”

“Tommy, stop doing that!”Karl said frantically, dropping in front of the iron bars and Fundy went to open up the door, Karl reached between the bars and struggled to stop his hands, “Stop it, you’re hurting yourself-“

Fundy opened the door, and before he could rush in himself Tommy had already gotten to his feet, pushing past him, and out of the room. He made it across the opposite side, hitting the ravine wall and letting himself collapse onto the floor once more.

“Tommy, Tommy-“Eret collapsed right next to him, “What the hell happened?”

“Did he do it?”Tommy asked, looking up and boring his eyes through Eret’s sunglasses, “He did, didn’t it? I tried to stop him, I really did, Eret.”

“Tommy-“Eret tried again.

Tommy interrupted once more, “Is it gone? All of it? Is Tubbo- Is Tubbo okay? I-I don’t have my comm, I can’t see if anyone died and had to respawn b-but...”

“Tommy!”Fundy exclaimed, catching his attention, “Tommy, what happened? Why were you in that cell?”

“Wil. Wil fucking lost it.”Tommy laughed wryly, “I tried to stop him before the festival started, and he wouldn’t fucking listen to me! He, he fucking...”

“That was almost three days ago now.”Fundy said in shock, he looked back at Schlatt, his ears pinned to the back of his head.

Schlatt grimaced, looking back at the cell, and then at Tommy’s bloodied hands and the stains that it left in the floor, “Let’s get him back to Manburg. Now.”

“Can I pick you up, Tommy?”Eret asked carefully.

“I don’t fucking care.”Tommy answered plainly.

Eret frowned, but placed arm arm under Tommy’s knees and wrapped Tommy’s arm over his shoulder. Once he got Tommy securely held, he looked back at the other three. Tommy’s head lolled to the side and he buried his face into Eret’s soft robe.

“I only came here to find Tommy and see if he was safe.”Eret stated, “But so help me, if you’re taking Tommy to Manburg for any other reason than to help him I’ll finish what Wilbur tried to start.”

Karl seemed to share the sentiment, nodding in agreement.

“Calm down with the dramatics.”Jschlatt said, rolling his eyes, “Taking him to Bad to patch up his hands, and feed him. Look at him, he looks like shit.”

“Tommy?”Karl questioned, walking over to where Eret was holding him, “Did you have any food. Or, for that fact, any water with you?”

“Wilbur was supposed to let me out. Why didn’t-“Tommy muttered, cut off by a rough cough, “Why didn’t he come back?”

“He’s injured. He didn’t respawn, we didn’t let him die in the first place.”Jschlatt informed, gesturing for them to start their walk back to Manberg, and due to Tommy’s current condition they didn’t hesitate to listen to him, “We caught him placing the TNT and he blew it, so he didn’t do as much damage as I’d imagine he hoped for.”

“Good...”Tommy said under his breath, “I really tried to stop him, you know?

“I know, Tommy, I know you did.”Schlatt sighs, “S’not your fault, anyways.”


	2. Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy is taken back to Manburg and the Dream SMP, watched over by those who have questions about what occurred, and those who are concerned about his current health.

Schlatt, Eret, Fundy, and Karl returned from their search with an unconscious, bloodied Tommy being carried in Eret’s arms. Even Schlatt looked upset when they brought Tommy into Manburg, with them carrying Tommy to Karl’s house rather than Skeppy and Bad’s, where Wilbur was still laying unconscious. After what they gathered from Tommy, a unanimous agreement had been made to not take him there. Techno, who was once at Wilbur’s bedside alongside Niki, had simply stood up and left to go to Karl’s once he had been given the news.

“I should have gone back.”Techno muttered, brushing back the unwashed blonde hair off Tommy’s forehead as he sat at his bedside, “I could have found him earlier.”

“It’s not like any one of us could imagine Wilbur doing that.”Eret sighed, leaning against a wall further back with Karl sitting on a chair besides him, “Let’s just be happy that we found him in the first place.”

“I’m back!”Bad announced as he, and Quackity, came back upstairs, a basket of bottles in his arms, “How’s the language muffin been?”

“Hasn’t moved since you left.”Techno informed, he gestured towards the bottles, “Those healing potions?”

“Yes, and some water. He’s gonna need that, not to mention food...”Bad sighed, coming to Tommy’s side and tilting his head back to get the pink liquid down his throat. Once he got that settled, he put down two water bottles at the side table with a frown, “I knew something was wrong when we didn’t find him with Wilbur. Tommy can be unpredictable, but...it’s not surprising he didn’t agree with Wilbur’s plans.”

“I should have been there, I should have seen how Wilbur was acting...”Techno scoffed, “I wish Tommy could have told me this was going on, too.”

“Where’s Tubbo?”Karl suddenly asked.

“I made sure he went to sleep, he was so messed up about Tommy he hadn’t slept since he went missing. He’s at your castle, Eret, actually.”Quackity informed, his usual humorous tone gone as the past few days had been far from enjoyable, “We’ll bring Tommy over to him whenever he wakes up.”

“Oh, yeah. He’s got a room there.”Eret nodded, he then asked, sounding suspicious, “What’s Schlatt’s plan about all this?”

“He lifted the ban on Tommy. I don’t know if it’s temporary or not.”Quackity said, surprising them, “Wilbur’s technically under arrest for the whole ‘trying to blow up the country’ thing, but for now he just wants one of them to wake up so he can get the full picture on what the fucks going on with these two.”

“Anyone talk to Dream lately?”Eret asked, their eyebrows drawn, “He‘s the one who provided the TNT.”

“Yeah...”Bad sighed, “I did. He said that he saw Wilbur was in a bad place and tried to be on his side to help him with his paranoia. But, like all of us, he didn’t think that Wilbur would go this far with getting Tommy out of the way.”

“He gonna do anything about it?”Eret asked with a scowl, “I get that he tried to help in the way he knew how, but it apparently did the opposite!”

“He’s getting the resources to repair the damages.”Quackity answered, “George and Sapnap apparently argued with him about it.”

“Techno?”

Techno snapped his head down to look at Tommy, who’s eyes were open and cracking a smile. Techno chuckled, “Hey, good mornin’ Toms.”

“God, my throat is sore as hell.”Tommy coughed, sitting up in bed with Techno aiding him wordlessly. He looked at everyone on the room that was staring at him, “Ah, fuck.”

“Language.”Bad mumbled.

Tommy looked down at his hands, wrapped white bandages over his fingers and hands all the way down to his wrists. He picked at the splotches of blood.

Techno shot out his hand and wrapped it around his wrist, gently holding it and doing his best avoid grasping him too hard, “Don’t touch that. You already split your knuckles.”

“Oh.”Tommy winced, “You guys had found me. Where’s- uh, where’s Wil? I remember Schlatt saying he got hurt.”

“Wilbur’s being taken care of somewhere else.”Bad said carefully, “After what you told the others when they found you, um...well, we didn’t think you should be around him yet.”

“Oh.”Tommy nodded along absentmindedly, “He’s gonna be okay though, right?”

“Yeah, he will.”Karl answered.

“And Tubbo?”Tommy asked, coughing into his elbow and then proceeded to have one of the water bottles shoved into his hands by Bad, “Is he hurt?”

“Just a few scrapes and bruises.”Bad reassured, “He’s asleep now, but if you drink and eat something we can take you to see him.”

“Oh, then get me a full fuckin’ meal and I’ll eat it in less then ten minutes if I can get outta here.”Tommy challenged.

Quackity grinned, “I’m the best food service worker in existence, I’ll get you something, Tommy.”

“Ey, thanks Big Q.”Tommy laughed roughly, “I’ll eat whatever. I’m starved.”

“You got it, Big Man.”Quackity said, rushing downstairs to gather some food.

“Drink your water.”Bad quickly reminded.

Tommy mocked his words before uncorking the bottle and chugging it. While he had made fun of Bad for his badgering, he did feel much better once he drank it.

“Schlatt revoked your ban.”Eret informed with a short nod in his direction, “You’ll be able to stay without any trouble.”

Tommy stared down at his hands that were resting on his lap, processing the information, “I think Wil was wrong about a lot of things.”

“What do you mean?”Bad asked, urging the second bottle of water in his hand after taking the empty one.

“He was all paranoid and shit, going on about how we couldn’t trust anyone at all, and how everyone would betray us at any given point. He said we were the bad guys.”Tommy’s voice cracked, but he ignored it, “I think he was wrong about what he said about everyone. He even tried to manipulate me, use my discs to tear Tubbo and I apart! Why’d he lie about everyone?”

“Tommy...”Techno began.

“God, that fucker, I love my brother, but why couldn’t he just do the same for me?”Tommy growled, clenching his fists into the blankets even as it put a strain on his knuckles.

“Don’t say that.”Techno sighs, awkwardly reaching over and dragging Tommy to him in a hug, with Tommy burying his face into the other’s shoulders, “Wilbur’s not...okay. But we’ll help him, right? We won’t give up on him, alright, Tommy? Fuck, we’ll get Dad to smack some sense it him.”

“You wanna snitch on him to our Dad?”Tommy laughed, nearly hysterical at the suggestion.

“Why not? We used to do it all the time.”Techno chuckled, “He used to do the same crap to us! Remember when I tried to fight our neighbors and he went and told on me to Phil? What a killjoy.”

Tommy brought his head back up again, calming down as his laughter soon subsided. At that time, Quackity had gotten back up as quickly as he’d left.

“Welcome to McDonald’s, here’s your order.”Quackity said as he pushed a plate of steak, bread, and apple slices into Tommy’s hands

“I think you said that wrong.”Tommy commented as he began to eat his food, filling up the void in his stomach. Midway through his meal, he glanced up and examined everyone in the room, “So, are you all just gonna watch me eat or what?”

Karl grinned awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, “Sorry, Tommy, it’s just...uh, it doesn’t feel right to leave you after the way we found you.”

“We’re also not sure how much we trust your safety here.”Eret added on, “I know it probably doesn’t sound much, coming from me, but...”

“It’s fine, Eret.”Tommy said, surprising the man, “I forgave you a while ago, actually. It’s just...well, I just really didn’t wanna upset Wil.”

Eret seemed to be put into silence out of shock. Tommy continued to eat, and due to the fact that he wanted to see his best friend he finished rather fast. He dropped the plate onto the side table and scrambled out of bed, only getting dizzy from the movement.

“Woah, woah!”Bad argued, grabbing him by the shoulder to steady him, “Don’t go so fast! We can  _ walk _ to Tubbo.”

Tommy scowled, “Whatever. Let’s just go already!”

He didn’t bother questioning when everyone in the room got up to follow him out, all edging around as if he’d collapse at any moment. Techno was right besides him, a steadying hand resting on his shoulder. Once they made it outside, Quackity spoke, “I’m gonna go tell everyone else you’re awake. I think everyone, and I mean  everyone, wants to ask about what happened.”

As Quackity ran off into the direction of Manburg, Tommy sighed, “If they start yelling over each other I’m gonna start stabbing shit.”

“I’d help.”Techno muttered.

They walked the rest of the way until they arrived at Eret’s castle, where Tubbo was resting, with Tommy only losing his balance a few times. He still wasn’t perfectly healthy after being without food and water, not to mention daylight, for a few days, but he’d ignore that for now. Right now, though, he needed to get back to Tubbo.


	3. He doesn’t need to know, and he doesn’t need to see.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jsclatt’s inner thoughts, and the things he chooses to leave out.
> 
> ‘Not yet.’He had thought, ‘He doesn’t need to know yet.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all I know is pain and so will you <3

Jschlatt wasn’t sure how he felt about the dilemma of Wilbur Soot and Tommyinnit anymore. Wilbur lay unconscious in Skeppy’s house, bandaged and healed after trying to kill the people in attendance of the Festival and destroy Manburg in the process. Tommy had been nowhere to be found after that.

Tubbo was, very openly, worried. After the third day of having no sight of Tommy after the Festival, Schlatt called a meeting and organized official search parties to go looking for the angry blonde. The day’s before had been people such as Tubbo, Eret, Niki, Karl, Hbomb, and Fundy searching on their own.

He said it was to get answers as the only other person they could ask was unconscious, his brother sitting by his side. The only place they hadn’t searched themselves yet was Pogtopia, a place Tubbo had briefly searched but came up empty.

He could see how Techno and Tubbo would blame themselves for not finding him sooner in their own base of operations. Though, it was honestly a miracle that they even found him to begin with, as the boy was probably unconscious at the time Tubbo and Techno tried to search for him. He was secluded, as well, burrowed within the walls of the ravine. 

Tommy’s screams were muffled behind the stone, Fundy had heard him first, ears shooting up as he gestured towards the wall that was hiding Tommy. They dug two blocks deep and found the small room that was keeping Tommy locked up. The torch in the corner of the room was barely lit at this point, leaving Tommy in almost complete darkness.

Tommy had blood on him, dripping down the open wounds of his knuckles. The blood stained the bed he slept in, the cold stone floor, and of course the metal bars that he slammed his fists against to begin with. Schlatt could only stare, dumbfounded, as the others rushed to either stop Tommy from hurting himself more or to open the door.

Tommy had run past Schlatt in his hurry to escape his previous confines, completely ignoring him in favor of relishing in the light and open space.

Tommy was panicked, obviously. Rambling explanations and questions that barely registered in Schlatt’s ears. All he could see was the tiny cell inits dim light and the blood staining it’s insides.

Schlatt distantly thought, ‘ _ I did this. I caused Wilbur to break this far from reality. _ ’

He would have before made the easy decision to rid Tubbo of his title in Manburg ( _He knew he couldn’t kick out Tubbo, he’d grown too attached to the kid, even if he was a spy_ ). Schlatt could have easily decided to to imprison Tommy and Wilbur for their crimes and their actions.

Now, he wasn’t sure.

The blood staining Tommy’s hands and clothes, the open wounds on his hands, the tiny unlit imprisonment, and Tommy’s uncharacteristic attitude changed Schlatt’s mind. The decision was no longer cut and dry, and he was no longer sure of the choices he thought he’d make once things calmed down once more.

Fundy looked at him expectantly, _worried_.

The words ‘ _ three days _ ’ echoed harshly in his mind.

“Let’s get him back to Manburg. Now.”Schlatt demanded, the idea being one of the first to come to mind when he first laid eyes on the blood.

“Can I pick you up, Tommy?”Eret had asked the boy carefully.

“I don’t fucking care.”Tommy answered plainly. 

The uncaring, sullen answer sounded wrong coming from Tommy of all people. This was the teenager who cussed him out without second thought, a proud teenager who was once the Vice President of an entire country.

Eret has picked him up with a concerned frown, and Tommy’s head lolled to the side to bury his face into Eret’s robe. Comfort was the word that came to Schlatt’s mind when he observed this, Tommy had been looking for comfort.

_ This wasn’t the teenager Schlatt knew a week ago. _

“I only came here to find Tommy and see if he was safe.”Eret stated, his eyes feeling intense as they bore into Schlatt’s even through the dark shades covering them, “But so help me, if you’re taking Tommy to Manburg for any other reason than to help him I’ll finish what Wilbur tried to start.”

Karl nodded in agreement, shooting a distrustful look in Schlatt’s direction. He didn’t mind, however, he’d gotten used to those as of recent.

“Calm down with the dramatics.”Jschlatt said, rolling his eyes as he tried his best to avoid staring into the unforgiving hole of darkness carved into the wall, “Taking him to Bad to patch up his hands, and feed him. Look at him, he looks like shit.”

“Tommy?”Karl questioned after nodding in approval at Schlatt’s words, he walked over to where Eret was holding him, “Did you have any food. Or, for that fact, any water with you?”

“Wilbur was supposed to let me out. Why didn’t-“Tommy muttered, cut off by a rough cough that shook his entire body, “Why didn’t he come back?”

“He’s injured. He didn’t respawn, we didn’t let him die in the first place.”Jschlatt was the first to inform, gesturing for them to start their walk back to Manberg, “We caught him placing the TNT and he blew it, so he didn’t do as much damage as I’d imagine he hoped for.”

That wasn’t a complete lie. Wilbur didn’t detonate as much TNT as he would’ve wanted, but in his state, Tommy didn’t need to know that almost half of Manburg was a hole in the ground. He didn’t need to know how the fires spread, how the rubble and the dirt halfway buried them, or how it took two days for everyone in attendance at the Festival to even be conscious.

Tommy didn’t need to see that underneath the bandages wrapped around Fundy’s neck and right cheek was a deep burn going down his cheek and down to the right side of his neck. He didn’t need to know that there would be a scar there, forever replacing his fur that was burned off. He didn’t need to know how Niki and Eret barely had the strength to him out from under the rubble overtop him, only putting out the fire that had swarmed around him mere seconds before it became deadly.

Tommy didn’t need to know that Schlatt’s left horn was snapped off halfway down its original length and would probably never grow back, it having been broken after he was launched off the podium and onto the ground, rubble collecting around him as ash fell from the sky. He didn’t need to know how Schlatt held his broken horn in his hand and stared at it for hours before he shook himself out of the shock that had overtaken him.

Tommy didn’t need to know that behind Eret’s sunglasses was a short, slashing scar running diagonally across his right eye, almost completely blinding him after the shards of falling rubble sliced into his face without a sliver of mercy. He didn’t have to know how loud Eret cried when Bad pulled the shards of glass and rock from his skin. Niki, battered and bruised herself, held their hand the entire time.

Tommy didn’t need to know of the many burns and cuts that would leave permanent scars underneath every Festival-goers bandages.

_ He didn’t need to know, not yet, not when he was still so fragile. _

“Good...”Tommy said under his breath, blissfully unaware of the true damage that had been done, “I really tried to stop him, you know?

“I know, Tommy, I know you did.”Schlatt sighs, running a hand over the wool on his face, “S’not your fault, anyways.”

It was not Tommy’s fault. It was his, it was Wilbur’s, and it was Dream’s.

As they walked, Schlatt decided that Tubbo and Techno didn’t need to know how close they were to finding Tommy before he did. As far as those two would be informed, they mined into the walls and stumbled across Tommyin a stroke of pure luck. After all, the deep bags under Tubbo’s eyes and the red streaks running down his cheeks were becoming personal for Schlatt by now. He refused to contribute any more to it.


	4. Found again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More insight in the occurrences of the Fesitval Explosion.
> 
> Tubbo and Tommy reunite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y’all know I appreciate all the comments I receive even if I don’t respond to all of them!!

_Fundy couldn’t breathe. Well, he could, but it wasn’t exactly an easy feat. A heavy weight was settled over his arms and legs, pressing down on his chest as he felt a burning heat warm his face._

_There was ash falling above him, and the sky was dark and grey, almost completely unreal to him._

_He distantly could hear Niki and Eret shouting, Quackity was gasping out, choked breathes somewhere off in the distance, and Tubbo was crying somewhere that Fundy couldn’t see._

_The warmth was becoming painful, now. It only got worse as the seconds passed._

_Then he went shockingly cold a minute later as water was poured over him, making him cough and gasp for air once it washed away._

_The last thing he could recall before closing his eyes was white eyes staring down at him and Niki’s choked sobs._

_He woke up two days later, bandaged and laying on a sleeping bag on the floor of Niki’s bakery. Karl, Sapnap, Eret, and Tubbo were there as well, all asleep and/or unconscious in their own arranged bedding._

_Schlatt was sitting on the floor near the entrance, part of his own horn held in his hands. Niki was sat at the counter, hair frizzy and untamed, her uniform singed and torn in multiple areas. She had bandages wrapped around her left hand and wrist, as well, and wore such a tired expression._

_Fundy felt as tired as she looked. But, when she saw him, she brightened considerably, a look he hadn’t expected for her to have over him. She stood up and hurried over, falling onto her knees at his side and smiling, “You’re awake.”_

_“Y-Yeah?”Fundy nodded, confused. He looked at the others._

_“Um, Sapnap hasn’t woken up yet, and Karl didn’t have the energy to make it back to his own house after he woke up, I also don’t think he wanted to leave Sapnap behind. Eret passed out from his injuries last night, and Tubbo’s okay, just exhausted.”She rambled off their injuries and conditions, seeming to have been concerned with all of them in their time unconscious._

_“I’m tired.”Fundy admitted, sighing._

_“You can’t go to sleep yet.”Niki said, smiling sadly as she stood up and went behind her counter. She came back with a loaf of bread, a bottle of water, and a healing potion, “You need to eat and drink these.”_

_Fundy didn’t argue with her, he was too tired to, anyway. Schlatt was still sitting on the ground, the only sign that he was paying attention was that his eyes turned to look at Fundy once he’d woken up._

_His cheek still felt warm, extending down to his neck, feeling as though he was still buried underneath the rubble of the Festival._

_Later, he’d peel back the bandages covering the right side of his face. He’d then shut his eyes, breathe, and try his best not to cry._

* * *

  
_Eret’s ears were ringing as he stared up at the dark sky, laid at the bottom of a crater. Explosions echoed in the distance, but for a second all Eret could do was stare up at the sky, his right eye closed._

_They reached up to touch their face only to spread the blood already present. Then Eret realized something, he wasn’t wearing his sunglasses. The sky was dark and gray all on its own, not through the lenses of his sunglasses. Eret groaned as they sat up wincing in pain as they did so. Then she was hit with another realization, her right eye was open, blood was smeared across it, and she could barely see a thing through it._

_Glancing down, he could see shards of glass and rubble sticking out from his arms, tearing through both his clothes and his skin alike. He waved a curious hand in front of his right eye, only seeing a blur of a shadow moving in its place._

_‘That isn’t right.’Eret thought._

_There was blood on his face, on his hands. There was rubble of what was once Manburg piercing his skin, and he couldn’t see out his right eye. Nothing was the way it should be._

_“Eret!”Niki’s scream snapped Eret to attention, scrambling to their feet and ignoring the flashes of pain that shot through them. Eret found Niki doing her best to remove rubble, frantic to the point that on the sharp edges she cut her hand but kept digging._

_Eret didn’t know why until he saw orange and white fur._

_“Oh, god. Fundy, Niki!”Eret ran, coughing as smoke reached his lungs. Fundy was halfway buried, and he was soaked from water being dumped over him. What was worse, however, was the sight of burned flesh and missing fur along the side of Fundy’s face. Eret felt sick._

_“I-I had to put out the fire...”Niki gasped, choking out sobs as she still did her best to remove the slabs of cobble and stone with the assistance of Eret, “It was almost completely surrounding him, Eret...”_

_It didn’t take too long for them to finally drag Fundy out from underneath the mess, Niki still unable to control her breathing even as Eret bent down and stared down at Fundy moments before he shut his eyes with a tired sigh._

_“We need...”Eret took a deep breath, “We need to move him.”_

_“I can help with that.”A voice said with a low rumble, approaching from behind them. It was Techno, scratched up and covered in ash just like everyone else. Eret wasn’t even sure Techno wanted to be at the Festival, only seeming to go out of pure boredom. Techno added, “Tell me where to carry and I’ll help.”_

_“My- my bakery. By the docks.”Niki answered, swallowing down another sob as she wiped her eyes. She did her best to regain her composure, “We need to find the others and get them back there too, it should be far enough away to not have been touched by the explosions.”_

_Techno simply nodded, reaching down and collecting the unconscious fox in his arms, making sure he held him securely enough before he hurried off in the direction of the docks._

_Eret and Niki swallowed their pain and kept searching. They found Schlatt, shell shocked and staring down at the horn in his hand as blood poured out from his nose and staining his wool. They managed to snap him out of his state after shaking his shoulders for a few moments._

_Tubbo was crying a few feet away from him, clutching his bleeding arm as he sat on the ground. He mumbled words to them when they got close, but it wasn’t understandable._

_“You have to help him.”Niki had said, staring him dead in the eyes with her hands on his shoulders to keep his attention, “Tubbo needs help, and so do you. Take him to my bakery.”_

_Schlatt just nodded wordlessly, clutching his horn to his chest before he helped Tubbo to his feet. He placed an arm over the distressed teen’s shoulder and pulled him into his side, leading him towards the direction of Niki’s bakery._

_Niki and Eret pushed on._

_Quackity was supporting George with his arm underneath his and George’s tossed over his shoulder. George was barely conscious, a trail of blood dripping off his forehead and running down his face. Quackity wasn’t doing any better with the blood soaking his pant leg, but at least he was conscious and aware enough to carry George in the direction of Niki’s bakery. In the distance, they could see Techno meeting them halfway to carry George the rest of the way._

_Bad and Skeppy were the least injured, getting away far enough to only have scrapes and bruises, their clothing singed from the flames. They were directed to Niki’s bakery as well, but they took a detour back to their home as they said they’d gather some healing potions and sleeping bags._

_Ponk and Punz were battered, but Punz was carrying a half-conscious Antfrost in his arms and Ponk had Sam leaning on him for support. The adrenaline kept them steady enough to travel towards the bakery. Purpled stood alongside them, staring down and just following them without a word spoken as he occasionally wiped the blood leaking from a cut on his face. At this point, Niki suspected her home and bakery will be filled to the maximum within the next hour._

_Jack was alright, having been late to the Festival by a handful of hours as he’d been distracted while mining. Eret simply instructed him to gather whatever healing and medical supplies he could find in Eret’s castle and take them to Niki’s._

_Hbomb had apparently shown up soon after the explosions went off, staring at the hole in the ground, the fallen structures, and the fire in shock. They, again, asked for him to go to Eret’s castle to follow Jack and do the same with medical supplies. Eret commented that Hbomb should probably set up some beds for the injured once Niki’s place was overflowed._

_Karl and Sapnap were the only other two at the festival that they found, Karl unconscious as he laid overtop the equally unconscious Sapnap. From the looks of it, Karl attempted to shield Sapnap from the explosion and took the brunt of the attack if the burnt off hole in the fabric of his hoodie had anything to show for._

_They didn’t discover that it was Wilbur, Wilbur Soot of all people, who snapped and blew up Manburg until they made it back to Niki’s bakery. Dream and Bad pulled Eret and Niki aside, leading them to where Wilbur laid prone, injured and unconscious, on the ground._

_Wilbur was the one who set the bombs off. Wilbur was the one who destroyed what used to be his home._

_Eret wished he could find the energy to be surprised when he heard the news. Niki was angry, of course, but more tears slid down her face and Eret couldn’t tell if it was from her anger or her sadness._

_Dream and Bad moved him to Skeppy and Bad’s house soon after telling them. Niki would have gone if she didn’t have a house full of others equally, if not more, injured that Wilbur._

_Eret, stumbling back inside, finally collapsing as his legs gave out from underneath him. The adrenaline escaped his body as soon as he stepped through the entrance, and he sighed, looking in Niki's direction, “I can’t see out of my right eye, Niki.”_

_Niki grimaced, squatting down at their side, and she put a comforting hand on their shoulder._

_“Everything’s gonna be okay, Eret. Let’s go find you somewhere to lay down and get those pieces out of your arm, alright? We already took care of everyone else, it’s your turn to get help.”_

_Eret wished that she could believe everything would be okay too._

* * *

Tubbo woke up with the same dread in his chest that he’d felt ever since the TNT went off at the Festival. He was in Eret’s castle, in a room made for him some time ago, clutching the bedsheets as he felt the absence of his best friend.

Someone knocked on the door, and Eret stepped in, “Hey, Tubbo.”

“Hi.”Tubbo mumbled, pulling his knees up to his chest.

“Tubbo.”Eret repeated, waiting for the teen to look at him before saying, “We found Tommy.”

Tubbo’s eyes brightened, and before he could question Tommy’s well-being, or where they even found him, Tommy himself had ducked underneath Eret’s arm and launched himself into the room.

“Tommy!”Tubbo grinned, wrapping his arms around his back as Tommy grappled him into a hug over his shoulders. Tubbo buried his head into the other’s shoulders, muffled as he said, “I tried to find you!”

“I know.”Tommy nodded, “It’s alright, though, don’t worry about me, Big T, all these guys have been watching me in case I collapse or something.”

“That’s because you could have a concussion and still think you’re alright.”Tubbo joked as they pulled apart, Tommy sitting on the bed as Tubbo wiped his eyes.

“Shut up.”Tommy says jokingly before he trailed off and whispered, “I, um, I tried to stop him.”

“I know.”Tubbo nodded sadly, “What- what did he do? Where have you been this whole time?”

“Wilbur- well, you know how he lost his shit and all that, right?”Tommy asked rhetorically, “He, uh, didn’t want me to mess with his plans so he shoved me in a hole in the wall and left me there. He was supposed to come back, but...”

“He’s been asleep.”Tubbo finished in realization.

“Yeah, yeah he has.”Tommy nodded with a pained expression. He cleared his throat, his vision went spotty for a handful of seconds, but he managed to focus and say, “I think everyone’s heading here to, well, fuckin’ ask me what happened. Since, you know...”

“Yeah.”Tubbo nodded, he asked lowly, glancing over his shoulder at the others standing outside the door, “Are you...alright?”

“What do you mean?”Tommy asked, matching the other’s volume.

“Your hands...”Tubbo said, looking down at the bloodied bandaged, “A-And it’s been three days, did you have any food, water? Did you have any light?”

“No, uh, I didn’t. Wilbur didn’t think I’d be in there for that long.”Tommy answered with a grimace, “And I honestly didn’t have a fucking clue on how long I was in there until they dug me the hell out. After a while, the torch in there was basically just embers and shit, so uh, it was pretty dark. Uh, fuck, it was really dark and I freaked out every now and again when I was in there-“

“Tommy.”Tubbo cut him off, placing a hand on his shoulder, “Breathe, man, you’re starting to panic.”

“Right, right.”Tommy nodded, the motion making him woozy, “Thanks for that.”

“Hey, you two.”Eret spoke up again, knocking on the open door, “Are you both alright to head down to the dining room? Everyone’s showing up.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re good.”

Despite his words, he still felt dread swell in his chest as he stood up to follow them downstairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol I wanna comment on the fact that Schlatt’s character is the white puffball goat design of him because I find it hilarious


	5. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guests arrive in search for answers.

Eret hadn’t been lying when she said that everyone had shown up, as basically everyone they’d known at the SMP was sitting and waiting. Tommy felt his chest tighten at the signs of bruises, cuts, small burns, and bandages on almost all of them. Schlatt, for the first time as he’d noticed, seeing as he wasn’t quite aware of much when the man and the others found him, was missing a good half of his horn. Fundy had bandages wrapped all across the side of his face, as well. Karl didn’t have any outward injuries except for a wince whenever he moved too much. He couldn’t see anything as major on the others.

Everyone sat down, somehow Eret had the correct amount of seats as if he’d been expecting a visit like this, with Tommy and Tubbo dragging their chairs next to each other. When Eret had the time to make an entire dining room was beyond them.

“Wilbur’s in one of the rooms at the house.”Skeppy informed, “We locked him in and left a note in case he wakes up.”

“He’s still asleep?”Sapnap asked in disbelief, having a bandage wrapped around his wrist and a few bandaids slapped across his face.

“That’s not surprising.”Tommy laughed dryly, “I’d figure that in the week before the Festival he only got a total of three hours of sleep.”

Niki grimaced. She had bandages on her and her hair was frazzled, and beneath her eyes were bags that showed her stress. It made Tommy feel guilty, Niki cleared her throat and asked, “Where were you? They just told us that they found you and you were injured, but, how exactly?”

“Um.”Tommy paused for a moment as he thought about how to answer that in front of everyone, “I tried to stop him from blowing up Manburg. I argued with him, you know, and kept arguing every chance I got. B-But, ah, the morning of the Festival I realized he wasn’t gonna change his mind, and I guess he realized too that I would get in his way. He, uh, made a jail. In the walls. And, well, he locked me in and left. He definitely didn’t plan to be caught in the middle of his own explosions, so he couldn’t...couldn’t get me out of the jail right after.”

“What happened to your hands?”Hbomb questioned with a frown as he glanced down at where they were placed on the dining table.

“Uhhh.”Tommy grimaced, sliding his hands off the table and putting them on his lap so they wouldn’t be seen, “Lets just say that I  really fucking wanted to get the hell out of that cell.”

“Had he done anything like that before while you two were, er, gone?”George suddenly asked, staring down at the table. He had a large, square bandage on his head and a few bruises on his face and arms.

“What do you mean?”Tommy asked in confusion.

“Like, has he threatened you, or...maybe, uh, _hurt_ you on purpose?”George awkwardly elaborated, seeming uncomfortable with asking the question but doing so anyway.

“Wha- I...no. No, he didn’t.”Tommy answers, slowly shaking of his head in disagreement, “He’d been all angry and shit, but all he ever did was yell and ramble about stuff. He didn’t- he never attacked me, he may be crazy, but he’s still my brother, he wouldn’t.”

“He did say a lot of... _ really _ mean things to you.”Tubbo commented with a conflicted expression. Tommy shot him a look, “It’s alright, Tommy. They already know I was a spy for you guys.”

“Think you could fill in what Wilbur was doing when Tommy was, uh, indisposed. Now that everyone is here, that is, as not everyone was conscious during your first explanation, Tubbo.”Schlatt requested, and it seemed that due to the way things had been the past few days that he didn’t have the time or energy to completely wash away the blood on his wool that stained spots of it pink.

“I knew about the TNT a few days before the Festival happened. Wilbur gave me a code word for the bomb, but I never said it, I swear that I didn’t.”Tubbo began, speaking swiftly before anyone could interrupt at a bad time, “Tommy and I planned on stopping him ourselves. But, then I couldn’t find Tommy, and he couldn’t answer the whispered messages I sent, so I panicked. I couldn’t even find Wilbur before I had to go to the festival. I didn’t say the code word, a-and Wilbur said he wouldn’t detonate the bombs if I was still on stage, so I figured if I stayed up there anyways...”

“He did it anyways.”Tommy finished his sentence bitterly, “He promised he wouldn’t hurt you...”

“I sent a message to our Dad.”Techno announced, clearing his throat awkwardly afterwards, “He’s gonna get here and said that he’s going to take Wilbur home with him, get him away from here and us until he can figure out how to help him calm theheck down.”

“Your plan to stop Wilbur from doing anything like this again is to...tell on him to your father?”Quackity repeated, shoulders shaking as he was doing his best to restrain laughter.

“Have you met Phil?”George asked rhetorically, “If he’d shown up during the Dream SMP war, he could probably just look at Dream in disappointment and he’d have signed the peace treaty a couple days earlier.”

“Dad will know what to do.”Tommy said with a nod, “He always does, especially when it comes to us.”

“If that’s all we had to discuss for today, I’d like to give Tommy and Tubbo the time to, y’know, actually get a night of good rest. Same goes for everyone, actually.”Schlatt said with a sigh, “And I’m very pointedly talking about Niki and Eret cause I know for a fact you two haven’t taken a break since the Festival.”

There was some talk that continued after that as people began to leave to do their own thing, but Tommy wasn’t paying attention. Techno appeared at his side, gesturing for him to get up. Tommy just nodded and stood, Tubbo following along as they left the dining room and up the stairs. They made it back to Tubbo’s room that Eret set up for him, and there had not been an extra bed added into the room.

“Schlatt and I are gonna be staying here, too. Eret offered some extra rooms for us to use.”Techno said, clearing his throat before continuing, “Get some rest, alright? I think the only talk that’s gonna happen downstairs at this point is reconstruction.”

“We’ll get some rest.”Tubbo nodded, giving him a tentative smile as Techno stepped out of the room.

“I’m really tired.”Tommy admitted, running his shaky fingers through his hair, “God, this is fucking nuts.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”Tubbo offered, Tommy’s expression was enough of an answer and he nodded, “Okay. Let’s go to sleep...I’m really tired, too.”

* * *

Schlatt sighed, leaning against the wall of the hallway where Eret’s guest rooms were located. Eret had already gone to bed, but gave Schlatt a rundown on where everything he may need in the castle beforehand. 

“Schlatt.”Techno said, announcing his presence as he made his way up the stairs.

“Techno.”Schlatt acknowledged, “I’m assuming you can’t sleep either?”

“No.”Techno sighs, “My dad’s on his way. Said he should be here by tomorrow morning, but he said not to wake the kids up if they’re still asleep when he gets here. He’s...worried.”

“I don’t blame him.”Schlatt nodded slowly, “You think Wilbur’s gonna...I don’t know, calm down? Or get better, y’know, with your dad’s help?”

“We’ll do our best.”Techno said, crossing his arms over his chest, “He’s my brother, and I gotta try. He’s...hurt. A few months ago, he’d never even imagine doing what he’s done to Tommy, he’d hunt down and fight anyone who even tried. But, now...”

“I’m sorry.”Schlatt suddenly finds himself saying, “It was rash of me to just...exile them, I guess. If I’d know that Wilbur could do something like this, I would’ve done some things differently.”

“You have a change of heart after everything that’s happened?”Techno questioned with a raised bow.

“If I hadn’t have seen Tommy in the state he was, I probably would have just arrested him and Wilbur without hesitation for the detonation of that TNT.”Schlatt admitted, “He wasn’t...he wasn’t the kid I remembered, and it doesn’t take a genius to find out some shit went down for him to go from some brash, loud kid to a freaked out mess that was trapped in the wall.”

“TOMMY!”Tubbo’s voice suddenly echoed out of the room they were sleeping in.

Techno and Schlatt immediately startled, rushing towards the bedroom and hurrying inside. Tubbo was sitting on the edge of Tommy’s bed, holding him as Tommy clutched to the back of his shirt with rapid breaths.

“It’s- I- I can’t...”Tommy stuttered, struggle to form a full sentence, “Dark, it’s too- it’s too dark.”

Schlatt made it to the table between the two beds, making quick work of lighting the torch settled there as Techno went to Tommy and Tubbo’s side.

“It’s alright, you’re okay.”Techno murmured, resting a hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

“Fuck.”Tommy swore, reaching up to his face to scrub at his eyes, “Fuck-...!”

“It’s okay, we got you.”Tubbo said, having a sad smile on his face as he reassured his friend.

Schlatt felt as though he was intruding when Tommy began to calm down, his best friend and brother at his side. He made the decision to quietly leave the room, leaving the door open by just a crack, and wait outside. 

He was capable of patiently waiting to know that they’d be okay. Through the open crack of the door, he simply listened.

”You alright?”Techno asked after a few, quite minutes.

”Yeah, yeah. Shit.”Tommy reassured with a strained voice, “Just...fuck, it was too dark. It made me think I was back in the...you know. Makes me feel like a kid again, being scared over nothing.”

”It isn’t just nothing.”Techno immediately disagreed, “You were trapped, and you’ve barely had any time to adjust. You’re not being unreasonable for being freaked out by something that reminds you of it. I’ve had my fair share of ‘unreasonable’ reactions, you know that.”

”I don’t mind leaving a light on.”Tubbo added on, “If it helps you get to sleep without making you panic, it’s okay.”

”...Thanks.”Tommy muttered after a few moments, “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me : *reports fics for containing pedophilia and sexualization of a real minor*
> 
> AO3 : I see nothing wrong here :)))


End file.
